The Blue Ribbon Event

2004 Athens Olympics: American sprinter Justin Gatlin achieved immortality at 43 kmph by holding off stiff competition from Portuguese Francis Obikwelu, and fellow American counterparts Maurice Green and Shawn Crawford by clocking a time of 9.85s in the 100m men’s final.

2008 Beijing Olympics: A 6ft 5inch Jamaican, 20m away from the finish line, looked left and right, spread his arms wide and thumped his chest for sheer joy. He didn’t realise the fact that he ran a sprint in 9.69s, bettering his own world record of 9.72s that he had set in the Reebok Grand Prix in New York earlier that year. Nicknamed “Lightning Bolt” by the media, Usain Bolt proved that he is arguably the most naturally gifted athlete the world has ever seen by claiming the yellow metal in the 200m and 4x100m relay for Jamaica, that too in world record timings in the Bird’s Nest Stadium.

9.69s.. World record time set by Bolt, in Beijing

At London this year, Bolt does not have an easy task at hand. During the Jamaican trials earlier this year, young Jamaican prodigy Yohan Blake got the best of Bolt, not only in the 100m but also in the 200m event as well. The defending World Champion Blake is a legitimate threat to take the Olympic gold medals off Bolt’s hand later this summer.

The dark horses

World’s second fastest man, American Tyson Gay believes that the blue ribbon event of athletics promises to be a close fight with many athletes hitting form lately. Though he was defeated by fellow American Justin Gatlin in the American trials, he came back strongly, avenging his loss at the trials by clocking a time of 9.99s in defeating Gatlin and the current European champion France’s Christophe Lemaitre at a wet diamond league meet in Paris last week. Having undergone surgery for a hip injury, Gay proved to the world that he is fit to take on the world’s elite at London after this win.

2004 Athens gold medalist Justin Gatlin, after serving a four year ban for testing positive for a banned substance, is on a comeback trail. He won the American trials by defeating the likes of Gay and Ryan Bailey in 9.80s, the fastest time in history for a man over 30. Though he lost to Gay last week in Paris, he will look to wipe out the dark shadows of his career at London.

Another strong contender running for the coveted “Fastest Man In The World” tag would be former world record holder and 2009 Berlin World Championship Bronze medalist Asafa Powell. Jamaican Powell failed to convert his success to the Olympic stage, both in 2004 and 2008 by finishing 5th in both the editions. The athletics world may have given up on Asafa Powell, but he believes that he can pull the trigger at the right time.

European champion, France’s Christophe Lemaitre, Great Britain’s former European champion Dwayne Chambers, American Ryan Bailey, 2004 Athens silver medalist, Portuguese Francis Obikwelu, and 2008 Beijing silver medalist, Trinidad & Tobago’s Richard Thompson would be the others to reckon with.

2012 London Olympics: Who will step into shoes of Tom Burke, Reggie Walker, Harold Abrahams, Jesse Owens, Jim Hines, Carl Lewis and Maurice Green? Can Bolt do an encore of his 2008 heroics or will 2004 winner Gatlin spring another surprise from his sleeves? Will the other big guns like Asafa Powell, Tyson Gay, Yohan Blake or any of the others create history? August 5th, 2012; these queries will be answered, and we will see who wins the The Blue Ribbon Event.